


Ink and Flowers

by emissaryarchitect



Category: Ava's Demon
Genre: AU, F/M, Shops AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-04
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-24 16:39:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4927159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emissaryarchitect/pseuds/emissaryarchitect
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ava Ire runs a flowershop. Small, modest, and easily out of the way of the gangs that usually run afoot, things seem blissful - except for the owners of the intimidating Tattoo parlor next door. One in particular who seems to shadow her every morning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my earlier and more popular AU's, so I thought I would post it here for easier access.

They arrive to work at the same time.

Ava worked as a florist, only with locally home grown flowers, so they were always fresh and perky. Her shop always smelled sweet and sugary, the scent of grass always carried on the fresh leaves that line the walls and hallways of her store. There was more soil on the floor than tile from her moving the live plants back and forth, and stepping inside one might think they were in a forest instead of in a suburban city.

The problem was, next door was a tattoo parlor. Ava had no qualms with getting ink, but the people that lingered around the establishment practically pressed against her shop were less than desirable. Often punks and rivaling gangs were known to frequent the place, and it was natural for the bitter smell of cigarette smoke and the sickly sweet aroma of alcohol to overtake the scent of her flowers.

The parlor was owned by a family, known as the Arrows.

Ava avoided them like the plague.

Whenever they passed she ducked her head and looked the other way. If she was lucky, they’d ignore her and she could reach her destination without qualms. If not, she knew a few gang members would tease her and shove her around a bit. It wasn’t that bullying was a new experience for her – in fact, she was well acquainted with the concept – but they were usually bold and big, so she’d get out of dodge as quickly as possible. She avoided them at every opportunity.

She couldn’t avoid opening time.

Ava always walked on foot to the shop, holding her needed supplies in a canvas bag that hung over one shoulder, and she always wore a wide brimmed sunhat to cover her face. She always rose before the sun and took a shower before walking down to the shop, and her hair dried with the rising sun.

However, there was one in the Arrow family that always opened shop. He traveled by motorcycle, and it cut through the gentle silence of the morning with loud spits and rumbles. He always wore the same jacket, one of black leather, girded about the shoulders with leather studs. The Arrow wore steel toed boots, and they clicked when he walked along the sidewalk. Ava had seen him many times – his hair was dark as shadow, and his indigo eyes were as intense as the moon.

Ava was terrified of him.

She tried to get to work early to avoid him, but it he always arrived at the same time. It was a constant fear on Ava’s mind.

Ava was fumbling with her keys as she tried to open shop, when she heard the familiar rumble of a motorcycle engine in the distance. She panicked and tried to shove the key through the lock, only to find that she was holding it the wrong way. Her hands were shaking.

The motorcycle ebbed to a stop, but the moment she heard steel toed boots click on concrete, she froze in place.

The Arrow sauntered up to his parlor door, only a few feet away from Ava’s, and he started unlocking his place. The florist attempted to unlock her door again, but her hands had become clammy in her anxiety riddled seconds as the Arrow stepped up. Her keys slipped from her fingers. As she leaned down to try and snatch them up, the canvas bag she held slid off her shoulder and the contents spilled out as it hooked around her elbow upside down. The ties she used on the flowers scattered around her feet, her scissors spinning and various other supplies rebelling.

“Ah-!” Ava dropped to her knees and started scrambling to pick them up, shoving them back into her bag. She finally gathered the last of her ties when she realized her scissors and keys were missing. She heard the faint jingling of metal, and looking up she saw the Arrow had the keyring secure between his thumb and forefinger.

Ava swallowed hard and slowly stood up, her knees slightly scraped from where she dropped to pick up her supplies and her dress dirtied from the sidewalk, before shuffling her feet nervously, her hands clenching the edges of her sundress and _oh no he’s really really tall-!_

The Arrow looked between the keys and Ava before thrusting his hand out. Ava flinched from instinct, expecting a blow, but after a second she blinked and found he was simply holding them out to her. She carefully took the keys from him, feeling the calluses on his fingers as their hands brushed.

He turned to walk away but hesitated, leaning over for a second and picking up the scissors that had vanished from earlier. As he handed them to her, she noticed how masculine he looked, and how amused his expression was as he passed the scissors to her.

“Thank you,” she squeaked, before unlocking the door to her shop and rushing inside. She leaned against the door and pulled the sunhat off her head and took in a few deep breaths, taking in the gentle scents of her flowers, multicolored buds and open blooms greeting her arrival.

After calming down, she noticed that wasn’t much of a thank you at all – he had helped, he wasn’t doing anything crude or mean like the others she had met – but she was still so scared.

Instead of worrying about it, she was quick to preoccupy herself with her flowers.

~~~

Ava ate lunch every day from the same place – a café across the street. She ordered the same thing, too. A bread roll, a Panini sandwich, and a carton of milk. It was no extravagant feast, but it was a meal, and it was hers to enjoy.

As she left the café that day, rustling through the brown paper bag to start eating before she got to her shop, she noticed something. “They gave me two sandwiches,” she realized aloud, but when she turned around to notify the employee about their mistake, they had already left for a break.

Ava puckered her lips and sighed, the exhale tickling her forehead and causing her bangs to shift.

As she started to walk down the street, for the first time in months, she hesitated at the wide windows of the tattoo parlor.

The place was empty, except for the Arrow she had met earlier. His jacket had been shed off, showing his cut sleeved shirt and muscular arms riddled with various designs printed through his skin, like a living canvas. He was scribbling in a book at the desk and periodically looking at the clock on the wall, before sighing and scribbling some more.

_He must be waiting for his lunch break_ , Ava thought to herself as she studied the metal and leather interior through the window.

He turned and did a double take as he spotted her through the window, and Ava once again froze in place. The motorhead quirked an eyebrow before tentatively raising a hand up and waving slightly at her. Ava took in a deep breath, set her hand firmly on the door, and pushed it open.

A plethora of smells assaulted her, mostly the foul stench of smoke and alcohol, but she ignored it easily as the Arrow watched her with a mixture of confusion and astonishment. She once again swallowed hard and rummaged the extra sandwich out of her bag. “Th… They gave me too many,” she explained meekly, wondering if her quiet voice could even travel across the distance between them and be heard.

The Arrow moved a little, pulling the chair backwards to stand up. Ava panicked and practically tossed the sandwich at a nearby table before rushing out of the establishment and dashing to her own. After plowing through her front door in an adrenaline pushed panic, she hid in one of the clusters of flowers she had in the back.

After being soothed by their scents and silence, Ava calmed down from her initial panic and decided that the sandwich was a good enough ‘thank you’ for earlier, and a good peace offering as well.

Calmed by this train of thought, she ate her lunch without any interruption and no customers.

~~~

That day as she walked home, the sun wearily setting in the distance and her sunhat pulled firmly over her ears, she heard a familiar rumble.

Her hands clenched the strap to her canvas bag nervously as she waited for him to pass by. She glanced to the street on her right, where the Arrow came up to her on his wicked motorcycle, painted with flames and black shimmer. Surprisingly, they slowed, and Ava felt her stomach clench. She couldn’t relax around them – she was never good with gangs, never.

He actually came to a stop, and in response her steps stopped as well. Ava looked to where he was still perched on his motorcycle, and he wrenched his helmet off his head, showing pale skin and scruffy features.

After staring at her for a moment, brushing his hair out from its flattened position, he called aloud to her. “Odin.”

She blinked and looked around to make sure he was talking to her. “Ah… what?”

“M-My name is Odin.”

Oh. That was unexpected. Ava brushed the front of her dress off before nodding in response. “I’m… I’m Ava.”

Odin seemed to nod in approval at the name, before looking back up the street. “Y-You always walk a-alone at night?” It wasn’t really night yet, but the sun was setting fast and she was losing daylight.

She would have been threatened by the question, paranoid thoughts of the gangster kidnapping her and dragging her off into the night, but his stutter along with his genuine tone made him seem much more human that earlier. “Yes… I don’t have a car….”  He shifted the motorcycle onto one side, and she jumped with the movement.

He chuckled deeply. “Y-You’re kinda skittish, a-aren’t you?”

Ava looked back up the street, where the sunlight was beginning to wane. “Kinda…” she replied quietly, looking between Odin and the sidewalk in anxiety. He followed her eyeline up the path before humming a little to himself in thought.

“I c-can give you a ride,” he offered suddenly, and Ava took a step back.

“Oh… no, no that’s… that’s fine, it’s fine, I can make it on my own…” She looked back up the path and felt panic lurch up her gut like a great serpent as she realized the only reason she could still see now was because of the motorcycle’s headlight. Her shoulders dropped and she felt the stress showing on her features.

“R-Really, now?” Odin sounded smug, and maybe a little prideful, and Ava shot him a steely glare. He blinked at the look before a smirk tugged its way onto his handsome face. “Y-You look like an angry _rabbit_.”

Ava yanked her sunhat down onto her head harder before straightening her bag and walking with a business like march away from him. She may have been meek, but she wasn’t about to let herself be teased.

“W-Wait!” The motorcycle rumbled to life and joined her as she stomped down the sidewalk. “It _is_ d-dangerous – are you s-sure you don’t want a ride?”

“Why do you care,” she mumbled, looking down at her feet, barely seen through the blanket of darkness that surrounded them.

“W-Well, we live in the same apartment complex. Th-Thought I’d ask, is all.” Ava stopped and spun on her toes to face him, her own visage twisted in horror.

“ _What?!”_

“Wh-What’s with that face…?” He asked, but Ava’s expression asked the question. Odin nodded and gestured up the street. “I l-live on the floor under yours.”

“How come I’ve never seen you around?”

He gave her a flat look. “I h-have work too, you know.” Ava took that into consideration and glanced up the darkened street with fear constricting her chest like a massive snake around her ribcage, halting her breath at the thought of going alone.

“…Ok,” she answered uneasily. Odin patted the seat behind him, and Ava had to drape her legs over one side, as the motorcycle was too wide for her.

“H-Hold on tight, alright?” She awkwardly put her arms around his torso, and she felt the rumble of the motor start underneath it her. It made her whole form feel numb and Ava wondered what she got herself into. “H-Here we go.”

And they were off.

Ava automatically tightened her grip on Odin as they sped down the streets, and her hair whipped behind her like a scarlet flag as they swerved around corners and didn’t stop. Her hat flung off in the wind, but she barely noticed. Ava was afraid, but she was also exhilarated. She had never gone so fast before, but the fear was strong in her and she leaned her face against Odin’s back in hopes of blotting out some of the dizziness. He smelled like smoke, and the tang of cologne clung to the back of her throat when she breathed in his scent.

“N-Not bad, huh?” He asked through the wind, and his voice sounded arrogant. “I m-modified her myself.” Ava wanted to respond, but the wind pressed against her too much. The fun of it lasted only a little while as her fingers dug into Odin’s leather coat, and she tried to bury how pathetic she felt for clinging to someone who was basically a total stranger.

The wind stopped whipping around them, and Ava found that she could look up without feeling the sting of the speed against her face. “We’re slowing down?” she questioned.

“Y-You seemed nervous,” he replied nonchalantly, and Ava squeezed his torso a little in appreciation.

“Thanks,” she whispered into his back, and she couldn’t see his face, but his ears seemed to darken to a violet.

They came to a stop at her apartment, sure enough. She slipped off of his motorcycle on shaky legs and Odin helped to steady her with one of his surprisingly gentle hands.

She scuffed her foot on the gravel, before awkwardly muttering out “Thank you, Odin…”

Odin seemed to puff up a bit before blurting “H-How do you d-d- _do_ it?” Ava blinked and stepped back in his outburst, and she blinked in a panicked confusion, muscles going taut.

“What?”

It was the most ungraceful she had ever seen him as he flung his arms out in an over exaggerated movement. “Y-You’re qu-quiet and small and you sm-smell like _flowers_ and you’re n-not intimidating at a- _all_ ,” he groaned and put his hands against his face and his voice lowered “but y-you’re still the c-cutest girl in town…”

Ava felt her face flush with a blush and her eyes widened at the statement. “I’m – I’m _what_?”

“L-Look, just – if you need a r-ride tomorrow, I’ll be up.” With that, he practically sprinted over to wherever his apartment was and she lost his image in the shadows.

“… _What_?”

~~~

Ava had already gone through her morning routine of taking her shower, ironing her dress, and brushing out her hair.

However, she found she was looking for something else, to make her look…prettier. She had very little in the way of jewelry, and even less in the way of clothing. She sighed as she stared into her bathroom mirror before running her hands down her face.

“He was probably lying and teasing me,” she muttered to herself, running her fingers through her crimson hair and sighing. She kicked her wall a little in frustration, only to pull her foot back and find white plaster dust clinging to her shoe. She forgot her apartment wasn’t exactly top par. Her landlord would be upset about the hole, too.

She groaned and knocked her forehead against the cabinet, only to have one of her many vases of flowers fall and dump over her head.

“Just great,” she groaned as she pulled the roses out of her hair, the thorns knotting in her locks. Her hair was wet again, and as she pulled another stem out she walked into her living area to grab her bag.

She took a look at her clock and practically snapped her neck doing a double take.

If she didn’t start _sprinting_ right now, she would be late.

Ava forgot about what flowers might be tangled in her hair and bolted out her door, realizing she had lost her hat when she was riding on Odin’s motorcycle the day before. She quickly pushed the thought out of her head because he was _obviously_ just teasing her, and as she stumbled down the stairs, little shoes hitting the gravel she heard “N-Need a ride?”

She froze in place again – his voice had a way of stopping her in her tracks. She slowly looked over one shoulder, where Odin was leaned against his bike and was stifling laughter. “R-Rough morning?”

“Shut up,” she hissed, her face burning with a blush as she realized her hair was still sopping wet and there must’ve been a few flowers sticking every which way. “You weren’t joking about the ride?”

He blinked and cocked his head. “Wh-Why would I be?” She opened her mouth to respond and thought better of it, instead opting to clamber onto the back of his motorcycle while he looked over his shoulder at her. “Wh-Where’d your hat go?”

“Lost it in the wind yesterday,” she replied, still flustered and embarrassed. He made a grunting noise in reply, and before she could speak he pulled the remaining flower out of her hair and slid his helmet over her head. It was too big and made her feel like a bobblehead.

“S-Safety first. H-Hold on.”

They didn’t speak as they seemed to glide along the streets, and she watched the graffiti tagged walls of the urban area rush past them. They were moving, but they weren’t going too fast. Odin seemed to notice her discomfort last night, and was putting extra care into making sure she felt relaxed.

Ava didn’t know what to say to that, so she said nothing.

After a few minutes of silence, only preoccupied with the feeling of Odin’s back against her chest as she held on, Ava decided she might as well ask _something_.

“How are you always up when I’m up?”

Odin cocked his head to listen to her, and she could see some tattoos that went up his neck, and how his eyes flashed when he glanced around. “Th-The pipe system in the apartments are r-really crappy. When y-you take a sh-shower in the m-morning, all the pipes start screaming in the lower f-floors.”

“ _I’m_ your alarm clock?”

“K-Keep up the good hygiene, Ava.”

As they curved around another corner a thought struck her, and an accusatory tone crept into her voice. “You don’t think about me showering, _do you_?”

Odin paused, before she felt his back stiffen and he replied “W-Well _now_ I will!”

“You mean that hadn’t even occurred to you?!”

“N-No, it h-h- _hadn’t_!”

They were both submerged in a very awkward and tense silence as they neared their respective stores. Ava was quick so slip off the bike and pull the helmet off, handing it back to Odin.

“Thanks for the ride,” she said in a quiet tone, almost noiseless.

“You’re… welcome.”

They were both silent, looking the other way and feeling generally out of place before Ava was the tie breaker and entered her store first.

As she entered the shop, closing the door behind her, she took in the scents of her plants. Her shop always made her feel relaxed. She fought tooth and nail to get this place, and even more so to get it turned into an official business.

Although she had gotten filched on the location, she still loved her store, gangsters and punks otherwise.

Ava began by watering all the flowers in the back, humming to herself, feeling a serene aura around her. Flowers were as quiet and gentle as she was, and they suited her company best. A few butterflies wandered in from the open areas and meandered through the air lazily, landing on a few buds.

Ava loved her store.

The bell to her door chimed, and to her surprise, she had a genuine customer.

She forgot about her bickering with Odin that morning, and began her work.

~~~

For once, Ava had a whole stream of customers come in, asking for flowers and bouquets, asking for imported seeds and all sorts of work. It was good to have business, but she forgot how tired it made her feel to do one customer after the other – luckily though, it was just a passing fad. People were coming in because Valentine’s day was coming, and they wanted to preorder something nice.

Ava sat, her face almost face down against her counter. She was hungry, but she couldn’t afford to close shop to go get lunch when business was doing so well! So she suffered through, past her lunch break and further then.

The bell to her front door chimed, and she sat up. “Welcome to the Sweet Boutique, may I-?” she stopped as the familiar scent of cigarettes and cologne clogged up her senses, and as she saw Odin in the doorway she made a strangled noise, recoiling.

He gave her an unimpressed look. “Wh-What kind of a r-reaction was _that_?”

“You smell like cigarettes, ok?” Odin had once again shed his coat, but he had entered with a takeout bag, white and splotched with grease at the bottom. “What’re you doing here?”

He neared the counter and pulled out a hamburger before tossing it in front of her. “H-Here. Payback.”

“Oh…” He had gotten her lunch? As payment for her giving him a sandwich? “You didn’t have to…”

He shrugged and sat down at the stool that was across the counter, opening the bag and pulling out his own food. “Eh, s-saw you didn’t catch a lunch break. I s-sympathized.”

“Why are you eating here?”

“You’re r-right. My p-parlor reeks like all s-sorts of nasty. Y-Your shop smells better.”

Ava almost felt flattered by the statement, if Odin weren’t sitting across from her and eating pretty _ravenously_. She tentatively stared eating the burger he bought her, and it wasn’t as greasy as she feared it would be. She took small bites.

“Y-You eat like a rabbit,” he commented with a snort.

“And you eat like a pig.”

“B-Better than a rabbit. P-People eat rabbits.” He suddenly grinned, a feral expression. “W- _Wolves_ eat rabbits.” With his luminescent pupils and scruffy complexion, he certainly fit the image of a wolf.

Although they had certainly built up some sort of camaraderie earlier, with his tattooed arms and almost leering expression on her face, Ava felt nervous again in his company. She shifted a little in her seat and ducked her head into her hair, almost subconsciously trying to look small.

“I-It was a joke,” he said suddenly, catching up on her anxiety.

“Yeah…” her voice felt small again. She felt small again. She had never felt small in her own shop before, not until Odin had entered. For some reason, it felt like he had invaded her sanctuary.

“D-Do you want me to leave?” His voice wasn’t offended, or even upset - just a cool, calculative tone.

Ava sucked in a breath and held it for a moment. “…No. I like company.” She did, too. Odin was good company when he wasn’t being creepy.

“Wh-What’s the deal, then?”

She sat up, squared her shoulders and declared in her most confident voice “You are very big and very scary.” He blinked in surprise, eyes widening and eyebrows shooting up behind his jet black bangs. “I am very small and very not.”

“Y-You’re afraid I might hurt you?”

Ava didn’t reply – she used all her confidence in blurting that statement.

“I w-won’t, I promise.” His voice was significantly softer, and she felt herself relax. Ava felt like her shop was her haven again.

“Ok.” They ate in peaceful quiet, and when Odin left Ava felt no fear.

~~~

It had become sort of tradition after that. Odin would buy Ava lunch, or the other way around, but they always ate at her shop. Ava was almost used to the smell that clung to Odin, and she was enjoying his company far more than she thought she would.

“Wh-Why don’t we ever eat at my parlor?” he questioned one day, looking at a rose. He spun it between his fingers.

“Because you said it reeks?”

“Oh. Y-Yeah, it does.” Ava giggled as she put a few more arrangements in vases. “St-Still, I think you might like it th-there.”

“You know your siblings don’t like me,” she responded, hefting the full vase into her arms and setting it into the pickup counter.

“I j-just wanted you to see wh-what my store looked like, is all.” Ava caught his meaning.

Ava’s flower shop was her haven, her safe place. Maybe to Odin, his tattooing business was the same? She sighed and wandered over to the front of her business and flipped the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ and spun on her heel.

“Come on, let’s go.” Odin looked sort of _delighted_ at the concept, and Ava felt her heart flutter looking at him. As they stepped out, Odin suddenly put a hand in front of Ava, his face tightening into a serious expression, brows knit and shoulders raising.

“What is it?” She looked past him and saw the Arrow’s rivals – the TITANS.

The Arrows weren’t really a gang, not per se, but they weren’t people to be messed with. It was almost impossible to be around in their neighborhood for long without being in a team of some sort, and through careful conglomeration the Arrows were born, and they enlisted others who didn’t have a specific gang they belonged to.

The TITANs were just the opposite. While the Arrows existed out of necessity, the TITANs thrived on the chaos of the alleyways. They were quick, clean, and precise – the Arrows were all that, but less flashy about it.

The TITANs stood outside the parlor, a few messengers bickering with Crow and Raven. They wore face masks and gloves, protective police body armor and other pretty things. Ava felt chills looking at them. The only reason Ava’s shop was still alive was because she hadn’t yet affiliated herself with anybody.

The TITANs seemed to get done talking to Crow and Raven, and after glaring at Odin with striking, unnatural eyes, they turned tail and vanished into the various nooks and crannies of the alleyways.

“Creeps,” Raven shuddered. She looked up at Ava and Odin approaching. “Oh, hey Odin, hey florist.”

“Hello,” Ava replied with the faint wave of her hand. Both the twins were somewhat amused by Ava, by the fact that she didn’t mind their teasing by mainly ignoring it, and the pure irony that she was a florist in the middle of a practical warzone.

Odin brought her into the shop, and Ava didn’t flinch at the alien smells that surrounded her. The insides had all sorts of gadgets, no doubt used for tattooing, and long bed like areas, where people would lay to get inked. There were benches and areas obviously meant for just talking to customers – it was far different than Ava’s shop.

Odin was rummaging behind the counter he usually sat at, and produced her sunhat. “I f-found this a few days ago,” he explained as she felt along the wicker edge.

“Wow,” she breathed. Ava hadn’t expected to ever get her sunhat back. She beamed up at Odin. “Thank you!”

She heard the twins whooping from the back and Odin barked a few insults at them before the stopped their chatter. Ava stuck the hat onto her head – such a nice, natural feeling to have it secure on her again – before she sat on one of the stools.

“Well? Show me around.”

Odin spent the day till closing time showing her around the different rooms and artwork he had done.

As she looked up at the various pictures he had drawn to eventually be strewn into someone’s skin, she finally understood how this place was his sanctuary.

~~~

“S-Sorry, something’s wrong with my motorcycle,” Odin apologized, looking through the intricate engine of his bike. “I c-can’t give you a ride today, s-sorry.”

She smiled at him, pulling on her hat. “Don’t be, I’ll just walk. See you at work?” He nodded, but it was obvious he was already absorbed in fixing his bike.

Ava thought it was strange – nothing was wrong with it the day before, and there hadn’t been any crazy temperature changes lately. As she mulled over this, watching the sun not yet peeking over the horizon, she stopped to take in the view. The sky was dark, but maroon and blue like watercolor in the clouds. Although it was easier to ride with Odin to work, she missed the view.

She felt like today was going to be a good day.

As she neared her shop, she realized something was wrong. Odin’s shop was still fine, the metal curtain over the front of the window – but there was still shattered glass on the ground. She rushed to her shop, dropping her canvas bag-

The entire place was trashed.

All the windows and vases were shattered, her flowers were either burnt to pieces or completely sliced apart, and Ava stared in absolute horror at the sight that lay before her.

Who could have done this?

This place was her home, her haven, her sanctuary-!

Ava entered the shop and looked around. The cash register had been looted, the back room flowers had been devastated, and Ava felt like crying. The smoke from her flowers being burnt were sweet and bitter, and made her lungs feel tight.

As she looked around, she found someone had spray painted the inside of her shop.

It was a single blue T on the far wall.

Ava felt her sorrows building up inside, felt her heart breaking in two, but she swallowed it down. Looking around, she forced herself to have a work ethic. This was her shop. And a few punks were _not_ going to take it from her, trashed or not, burned to the ground or not, it was _hers_.

Besides, this wasn’t the first time she had a business get torn apart. She could deal with it again.

She wandered over to the back room, still choking with smoke, and retrieved her broom.

“Start from scrap again,” she told herself, but she felt tears prick at her eyes with how small she felt.

~~~

Ava had cleared away the glass and bagged her burnt and ruined flowers. Luckily, she was far more used to cleaning up trashed stores than people realized. She was sending out phone calls to the people that had preordered flowers from her that they might have to cancel, and she rubbed her face from stress.

“Wh-What the h-h- _hell_ happened here?” She glanced up to see Odin standing across the room, his hands clenched into fists and his face so furious Ava felt like she was staring at a wolf.

She couldn’t speak, or else she might cry again, so she simply pointed to the far wall.

“Those b-bastards,” Odin hissed, his head lowering as he hunched slightly, gritting his teeth. “Th-They must’ve seen us hanging out and th-thought you were with us.”

Ava thought along those lines, and she only nodded, pulling her bright scarlet hair back and sighing shakily. “Did you fix your bike?”

“Y-Your shop just got trashed, and y-you’re _thinking about my motorcycle_?”

Ava sighed and rubbed her temples. “Look, Odin, I know you’re angry, but… don’t worry about it, alright?”

He gawked at her, indigo eyes flaring as he gestured to the tagged wall. “D-Don’t _worry_? Th-Th-They-”

“The isn’t the first time this has happened, Odin.” He faltered and his expression turned form angered to curious. “The last shop I had was trashed by the Vengess gang, it was only a matter of time before someone messed it up again.” Ava lowered her head and started fiddling with her dress. “I say don’t worry because… well… I’m used to this sort of treatment.”

“Ava…”

She rolled her shoulders and swallowed hard at how gentle he sounded. “I’ll just have to order more flowers in and get a second job.”

“Th-They didn’t get rid of all the flowers.” Ava looked up, expecting to see Odin produce a single flower left or a something, but he was looking straight at her. She blinked and felt her face warm up as he leaned down and stroked her face, pushing her hair out from the front. “I-If you need anything… y-you know where to find me.”

She nodded, and Odin looked around the room one more time before she could see the anger creep back over his features as he exited.

~~~

Ava had gotten a part time job at the café across the street. The problem was, the hours were vastly different from her own shop’s, so she couldn’t ride with Odin anymore, or share lunches with him.

He said that was for the best, that if the TITAN’s saw them hanging out any more they might pull something else. Ava belatedly agreed, but the distance between them still made her feel lonely.

Valentine’s day was around the corner, and Ava was disappointed when she had to call up her customers and send their money back for lack of flora.

Maggie, a fellow employee, had closing that day. Ava was walking down the street, used to seeing it in the honey colored light of sunset and not the wary grey-blue that came with evening. She tugged on her sunhat and sighed. It was going to be hard to build her shop back up again, but she’d already done it once already.

It’d just take time.

She thought about Odin – he must’ve been working in his shop, still trying to fix his bike and waiting for the day to end – he might’ve been drawing in that journal of his. Ava groaned as she walked along. She was practically pining.

“They were right – she does look like a flower.”

Ava spun around in surprise and felt her gut drop at the sight of fresh blue facemasks and neat, military-esque uniforms.

They had already surrounded her when Ava had spun around, and she looked for any way out. One of them approached her, a number 6 engraved on the mask that covered their face.

“Well, looks like it’s a lost red riding hood, huh?” One of them yanked on her bright red hair, and she cried out. Ava turned and smashed her hand into the member’s face, and they reeled back from the blow.

“Look at this rose!” the Six one chuckled, and the member she punched seconds earlier landed a blow to the side of her face. Pain shot through her jaw and she fell to the concrete ground, scraping her knees. They tried to grab her by her hair again, but she lunged and dug her fingernails into their face, and they fell over from her vicious attack.

“Even roses have thorns,” she hissed angrily, her face throbbing and her hands aching.

The TITANs turned to her, all wearing lethal expressions – and Ava braced herself.

~~~

Odin never received packages, so he looked over the paper bag with a bit of scrutiny. It was addressed to “the Arrows,” but Odin was the heart of the business, so it went to him.

His friends and family were wandering around his parlor and being a general nuisance again, and he ripped the top off the bag, pulling out its contents.

His gut dropped.

Crow and Raven stopped roughhousing and asked in unison “Isn’t that…?”

Odin held Ava’s sunhat.

A note was along with it, in blue paper. “We took your rose for Valentine’s day” it read in curly print. He crushed it in the palm of his hand.

He could spot a few browned bloodstains along the edge, and he went from zero to feral in seconds. “Th-They took her,” he hissed angrily, his fingers biting the edge of the wicker hat. “I-If my b-bike wasn’t broken I’d-” his expression only darkened when he realized aloud “- _They_ busted my b-bike!”

“Well,” Olai’s voice carried smoothly across the store “looks like they took someone of ours.”

Odin tore his jacket off as he and the others began ritualistically preparing for a fight.

“Let’s go wish TITAN a happy Valentine’s day in return, hmn?”

~~~

Ava didn’t like small spaces.

She liked being wounded and shoved in a small space even less.

They had pushed her, blindfolded, into a tiny closet and locked her there.

She missed her flower shop.

She missed riding with Odin to work.

She missed a lot of things.

Most of all, she missed fresh air. The closest was incredibly stale, and she kept trying to shift into an easier position to breath in air from the crannies in the door.

“Where are you, Odin?”

~~~

“Come to fetch your flower?” Six asked, and Odin felt his blood go hot at the sight of the TITAN leader looking so smug.

“ _Wh-Where is she_ ,” Odin demanded, and he felt his siblings and friends nearing up behind him, all sporting baseball bats and heavy chains, swinging them idly as they awaited a response.

“You’ll have to come and get her.”

Crow grinned, white teeth flashing in the shadows that followed them. “Just what I wanted to hear.”

A gunshot was the only warning as the fight began.

~~~

Ava jerked at the commotion outside, trying to slide her blindfold off by rubbing her head against the wall. Her hands were tied with zipties behind her back, and she wrenched them hard in an attempt to free her hands.

There were gunshots and screaming, angry yells and the slam of chains against the wall.

She didn’t know how long she sat; listening to her own panicked breaths and the noises of war through the muffling door.

Her head was itchy where her scalp had been broken open by the butt of a gun, and rubbing her face against a rough surface wasn’t helping any.

Eventually, the noises came to a halt, and she waited in nervous anticipation.

She was so scared.

Ava felt the whoosh of air as the door was pulled open, and she felt her stomach lurch and her shoulders shake. Who was it at the door?

The blindfold was clumsily pulled off, and as her eyes adjusted to the light she could see bright indigo eyes and dark tattoos, bruised and bloodied. He fastened her sunhat on her head as Odin chuckled “Y-You lost this.”

The floodgates burst as Ava suddenly started crying, the tears pouring down her face as she sputtered “They came from everywhere and I couldn’t hold them off and I was so scared-” she hiccupped as Odin lifted her into his arms, holding her tightly. She sobbed into his shoulder as he carried her, and she was so glad to smell that bitter cigarette smoke and cologne. “You came for me,” she whispered.

“O-Of course I did. It’s up t-to me to give you rides, isn’t it?” She felt the plastic strap around her wrists snap, and she inclined her head to see Raven had cut it. The blackbird was also as roughed up as Odin, cut and bruised.

Ava looked up and spotted the rest of the Arrows. Some of them were looting the place, others were bandaging up wounds, and some simply sat in silence.

“You all came to save me…?”

They all nodded, and Crow smiled a little as she leaned and popped her back.

“Why?”

Raven puckered her face at her. “Well, duh. We like the smell of your flower shop.” Ava blinked large, watery eyes. “We all got pissed that the TITAN’s trashed your place, and since they treated you like an Arrow, we will too.”

Ava rubbed her eyes and hiccupped. “Thank you… Thank you so much…”

“Let’s get you cleaned up, flower,” Crow chimed as Ava felt along the broken skin on her head and the cataloguing her various wounds. She would have thanked them all, would have told them how much it meant to her that they came to save her, some little backwater florist, but she was fast asleep in Odin’s arms.

She couldn’t help it.

She hadn’t felt this safe since her flower shop was trashed.

~~~

Ava woke up somewhere warm.

Blinking slowly, her eyes tried to adjust to the dim light. She didn’t recognize the ceiling.

Sitting up and looking around, she was greeted by the inside of a bedroom. There were various handdrawn pictures tacked to the walls, different art tools around the room. There were piles of dark laundry in the corners, and Ava brought her knees up to her chest in worry. Where was she?

“Oh, y-you’re awake.”

Odin stepped through the door, his wounds all patched up, and for once he was wearing a shirt with sleeves. Ava put a hand up to her forehead and felt bandages. “Where am I?”

“M-My apartment. Y-You fell asleep, and w-we didn’t want to linger around a TITAN h-hovel any longer than we needed to.”

Ava sucked in a breath and nodded, looking a little stiff. “H-How’re you feeling?”

She paused. “…tired. You?”

Odin wandered over and sat himself next to her on the bed. “S-Same.”

Ava twiddled her finger a little, before speaking aloud, voice barely above a whisper. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

He looked away, a deep set violet blush crawling along his cheeks. “…Yeah,” he replied clumsily, rubbing the back of his head. Ava squared her shoulders and leaned forward, pecking a tiny kiss on his cheek. Odin’s face flushed, and she stifled a giggle at how shocked he looked.

“Wh-When did you stop b-being scared of me?” he asked in surprise at her boldness.

“When you promised not to hurt me. You kept your promise, so why should I be scared?”

He chuckled and put an arm around her shoulders, fondly placing a kiss at the top of her head. “M-My brave rose,” he muttered into her hair.

“I’m your rose now?”

“I d-don’t see anyone else here.”

Ava laughed and leaned into his tattooed arms. The sting from the loss of her flower shop seemed to ebb some, as she found her new sanctuary.

~~~

They always arrived to work at the same time.

Of course, that could’ve been because they rode together.

 


	2. the difference between blue and purple is red

Ava sat, stomach down, on the counter that Odin was drawing at. She was a frequent visitor to the tattoo parlor since the kidnapping, and the tension between her and the other Arrows had ebbed into friendly teasing, treating her like everyone’s little sister.

Odin had never been happier. He had his girl, his business, and his family all in one spot.

He was idly sketching out some other designs he was planning out. He had recently begun to study and draw plant life and flowers in radical patterns, thanks to one red rose that he was enamored with. Ava watched in avid interest, scarlet hair in great pools around her tiny body. She had always been fascinated by how easily he could create, and she complimented him on it almost daily. He would be lying if he said he didn’t fluster every single time.

He was drawing the careful edges of a maple leave on coarse paper as he brainstormed new designs.

“Hey Odin?” He didn’t glance up from his work, only replied with a high humming noise. “What would you think if I got a tattoo?” That piqued his interest, and he set his drawing pad down to look at her in surprise.

“I th-think if you g-got one, you’d b-better do it here,” he replied with a half shrug, deciding she wasn’t serious.

“I was thinking of getting a rose,” she continued, rolling onto her back and taking her thick hair with her. “Something small and bright.”

“Y-You were s- _serious_?”

She gave him a flat look, puckering her lips. “That’s why I asked, dummy.” She paused and looked thoughtful, twirling a lock of her hair between her two fingers, a small smile pulling her features up like a bowstring and her eyes half lidded as she envisioned. “I thought about having it between my shoulder blades, because  I don’t want it somewhere easily seen, so I’d probably get it there or on my hip… or something.”

Odin didn’t think much of customers when he inked their forms, but this was Ava. He thought about her great canvas of blank, smooth skin that had yet to be colored, he thought about carefully forming the perfect rose on her hip, blood red against pearly skin.

A blush violently flushed his features and he cleared his throat awkwardly in an attempt to push the mental image out of his head. “A r-r-rose you s-said?”

“Yeah,” Ava slipped off of the counter onto black slippered feet and asked him in earnest “do you think you could do that? I can pay.”

“I… y-yeah, I c-can d-do that.” His stutter was getting worse the more he thought about it. Ava looked at the small watch on her wrist and mumbled out a “oh no” before grabbing her canvas bag and sunhat.

“I gotta get to the café before my shift starts,” she explained hurriedly, planting a tender kiss on his cheek before exiting. “See you tonight!”

As she exited, his sighed and rubbed his cheek in a daze where she had kissed him. He doubted he would ever get over how incredibly adorable Ava was.

He dragged his gaze down to his sketchbook. Ava wanted a rose, like the nickname the Arrows had given her.

As he started designing the gentle swooping lines that would make the bulb of the flower, he squinted. That wasn’t good enough, the lines weren’t smooth enough. He hastily turned the page and began again. This time, the bulb was fine but the petals were too tightly drawn together, there was no depth to it.

Frustrated, he began again.

After twelve times of drawing and redrawing the same rose, Odin groaned and his forehead hit the table. He didn’t want just any crummy tattoo for Ava – he wanted a rose just as cute as she was to be the trademark on her skin.

He decided to put the project aside for a moment, sometimes focusing on one thing stressed him out. He began another commission for another client, who wanted flames in a certain mosaic pattern at the bottom before curling into the ragged marks that flames would be. Odin found it an odd request, but he continued anyway.

The hours whittled away and before he knew it, night had descended and Ava had trotted through the door, the faint smell of flowers and fresh soil clinging to her clothes. “Hey,” she greeted, setting her hat and bag aside before hopping onto one of the many spinning stools that lined the counter “did you draw a stencil of my rose?”

“Uh,” he pushed the pile of crumpled papers nonchalantly off the counter “I’m st-still working on it.”

“Oh good,” she replied, slipping her bag off her shoulder and setting her sunhat on top of it. “I was hoping maybe, if you weren’t too far into the design, that we could brainstorm a little?” She sat atop one of the stools, crossing her arms on the counter and leaning her head against her shoulder. Her scarlet hair swept over one shoulder and gathered like a curtain across the counter, stray hairs ticking her face.

He swallowed hard and nodded, fingers fumbling for his sketchbook.

“I was thinking, it doesn’t have to be a rose from the side? It can be from the top, like one of those minimalist designs?” He nodded, putting pencil to paper, sketching out a circle for a base. “Hey, are you ok?” Before he could look up, her tiny palm was across his forehead. “You look a little feverish.”

“I’m f-fine,” he blurted in a fluster, pushing her hand away. She blinked in confusion, pulling her hand back.

“Ah… alright…” She rubbed her hand a little before suggesting quietly “I was also thinking maybe… it would look better on my back, where… no one could really see it.”

“Th-Then what’s the point of g-getting one if no one c-can see it?” he questioned, waving a hand idly through the air as he sketched, feeling foolish.

“Well…” Her face darkened with a blush and she cupped her cheeks with her hands. “Uhm… maybe _one_ person could see it.”

“Wh-Who?”

A moment passed with Ava’s face practically glowing with a blush before Odin blurted “OH.” His own face began to burn as he cleared his throat and drummed his fingers along the counter to make any noise. He understood the implications of her words.

“Uh,” she gathered up her things hastily and pulled her sunhat on her head sloppily “I should get home soon.”

Odin stood up and pulled his sketchbook in his jacket. “Uh… Olai c-can watch sh-shop for me. C-Can I give you a r-ride?”

Ava’s anxiety ebbed and she smiled softly. “As long as it’s not interfering.”

“Y-You, interfering? N-Never,” he laughed, patting the top of her head fondly. Odin knocked on Olai’s booth and called out “O-Olai, you’ve got sh-shop. Don’t in-invite your weird friends over.”

“I will anyway!” Olai replied, and Odin rolled his eyes as he tossed his helmet between his hands.

As they stepped out into the cool light, the air slightly metallic tasting from the cold, Odin set a hand on Ava’s shoulder. “W-Wait a moment,” he said before she could hoist herself on the back of his motorcycle. He sat on the leather seat and leaned _back_ , patting the space in front of him.

She cocked her head. “What?”

“S-Sit in front,” he replied with a small smile and bright eyes. Ava pulled her sunhat into her bag and cautiously wound her legs around the large seat, her claves hugging the metal. He took her hands and placed them on the handles under his own palms.

“Odin-” Ava began, but he leaned down close enough for his hair to tickle her cheek.

“J-Just follow my lead,” he murmured, and he could feel her cheeks flare with heat at their closeness. He twisted his hand and the engine rumbled beneath them. She pressed her back firmly against his chest, and his heart leapt into his throat.

They began winding down the streets, her hands warming under his as they turned and sped down crisp cold roads. She tossed her head back and laughed, her hair tousling his face. She smelled of fresh flowers and sweet spices, the scent enveloping his senses and filling him with a relaxed serenity. Her laugh echoed down the streets, making the whole town sound like bells and windchimes.

They came to a stop at a blaring red stoplight, and she was breathless from laughing.

“Y-You don’t seem scared anymore,” Odin noted at her smiling expression.

“There’s no need to be scared,” she replied without hesitating “if I’m with you.”

He let her words wash over him, before leaning down and leaning his face into her hair. Her sweet scent, her laugh like bells – she was _perfect_. Everything she did, working to build up her flower-shop again, laughing, the way she spoke to him in a way that he _knew_ she cared about him – he _loved_ her.

He wished he could tell her that.

A distinct, hissing rumble came to a stop beside them, and they both turned. In the dark night, they were greeted by a motorcycle unlike their own, with slate white and neon blues glowing in the night. The rider had a white leather outfit on, and garish blue hair, almost the color of the night sky.

“Six,” Ava hissed, tensing up automatically.

“Ava,” they greeted with a slight inclination of their head, before regarding Odin with a distaining glare. “Arrow.”

“Wh-What do you want,” Odin demanded, glaring back at the TITAN. He wasn’t planning on glossing over their abduction of Ava any time soon.

“Small talk until the light goes green,” they replied, tossing their hair and looking back at the stoplight. In spite of the lack of traffic, it was still blinking red. Odin wondered if it was broken. “How’s your head, Ava?”

She glowered and looked straight ahead. “You would know, wouldn’t you?” The wound on her scalp from the butt of one of the TITAN’s guns had scabbed over and healed, but there was still a scar marking the encounter.

“I was simply concerned,” they defended politely, gesturing to their chest.

“C-Concerned,” Odin intervened “f-for _Ava_?”

“Don’t misunderstand,” Six replied with a slight hiss. “The Arrows are still nothing less than mere criminals in comparison to us, but Ava…” They trailed off, eyes lingering on her form. Odin tilted his body slightly, so they couldn’t look at her as easily. “…She has earned our respect.”

“ _What_?” She asked in a shrill tone, brows knit and hands stiff.

“You may be a little rose,” they replied with the slightest purr in their tone as they addressed her “but you have very _fierce_ thorns. You would make a good TITAN.”

The light flicked green and Ava squeezed the accelerator, leaning forward as they blasted past Six. “A-Ava?” Odin asked in surprise as she loosened her hold and he took over again. She didn’t reply, eyes downcast, and he didn’t speak until they hit another stoplight. Odin glanced behind them and made sure Six hadn’t tailed them, before turning back to Ava. “A-Are you okay?”

Ava pulled her hands out from underneath his and shuffled on the seat, tucking her legs in and turning until she was sitting opposite of before. Odin gave her a confused look before she pressed her face into his chest and wrapped her arms around his torso, sitting backwards on the motorcycle to hold him.

He felt his face burn, as her fingers curled into the cloth of his shirt, and he asked quietly “D-Do you want to cr-crash at my place tonight?” She nodded against his shirt.

They were silent for the rest of the ride, Ava’s trembling form pressed into Odin and his silence her solace.

They stopped at their apartments, and Ava sluggishly followed him to his home. His place smelled of cigarettes and paint, while hers smelled of flowers and sweet pastels. He preferred her apartment, and she preferred his.

However, the smell of cigarettes was only faint as Ava kept goading him about lung cancer and other undesirables. He was cranky for a few weeks, but it was hard to stay upset around Ava.

He unlocked the door and Ava didn’t hesitate to step inside, weaving past canvases and laundry piles before collapsing on his couch. He walked in and locked the door behind him before leaning over the head of the couch.

“Y-You okay?”

She shook her head against the pillow. He stripped his coat off and set it aside, before gently tugging on the back of her collar.

“T-Take your coat off,” he said quietly, and she stripped the thin coat off and tossed it on top of his, and laid back down on her stomach. Odin walked around the couch and sat on the carpet next to the couch. The TITAN’s had a way of making Ava feel nervous and drained. He didn’t blame her, considering they had kidnapped her once.

“I h-haven’t finished up your tattoo design,” he started talking, filling up the space. “B-But I wanted to know if y-you decided where you would w-want it?”

“My back,” she replied softly.

He placed a hand between her shoulder-blades. “H-Here?”

“Lower,” she looked up at him, with shimmering amber eyes. He glanced to her back and gently ran his palm down her spine, feeling the curve of her form, until stopping at the small of her back. Ava exhaled softly, eyelids fluttering at the gentleness of his contact.

“H-Here?”

She nodded.

Odin removed his hand and pulled his sketchbook out, full of idle doodles and tattoo designs. Before he could flick to a new page, Ava asked quietly “Can I look through your sketchbook?” She had asked that several times, and though he rarely agreed to let her sift around his drawings, he shrugged and handed it over.

Her fingers began carefully flicking through the pages, admiring his doodles. She had such a fascinated and enchanted look quirking her brow, making her eyes flash as she turned the page. While she looked, Odin took the opportunity to stand, pulling her legs up as she squeaked so he could sit down. When he plopped onto the couch he draped her legs across his lap.

“You could have asked for me to move,” she said with a pout.

He chuckled a little and grinned at her, a lopsided smile. “Y-You looked busy.”

She stuck her tongue out at him and hit his collarbone with her foot. He rolled his eyes as she went back to staring at his doodles.

He heard her gasp a little, a breathy “oh,” as she came to a particular page.

“Wh-What?” he asked, an inkling of nervousness worming into his gut.

“This one,” she stated decidedly “I want this one on my back.” She handed his sketchbook over, and he did a double take at her choice.

Not too long ago, he had drawn the picture of a heart – one half covered in cracks and the other smooth – with an arrow splitting down the middle.

“A-Are you sure?” he asked incredulously, looking between his crummy doodle and back to Ava. She nodded assuredly. He looked back at his drawing and nodded slightly in approval. An arrow in her heart – it was almost like a promise.

He set his sketchbook aside and asked aloud “D-Do you wanna go upstairs to g-get some pajamas?” Considering she was only a floor above, she nodded and pulled her purse over her shoulder.

“I’ll be right back,” she promised with a peck of a kiss on his cheek before swinging off the couch and heading out his door.

Odin occupied himself with redrawing his old doodle, smoothing lines and making the heart look more heart shaped. Only moments later Ava burst through the door, panic in her eyes as she slammed it behind her and pressed her back against it, as though someone was going to plow in. Her bag was dangling off her elbow, and her dress strap was slightly askew to show her shoulder.

“Ava?” He stood and bolted over to her, pulling on her shoulders. “What’s-”

“They – They know where I live!” She screeched, looking frightened. She grabbed his hands and pulled. “Look!” He followed her outside and upstairs, and she pointed to her door.

Odin blinked against the darkness, before he felt his gut drop.

Sitting in front of Ava’s door was a bouquet of blue roses.

Odin hastily scooped Ava up into his arms, much to her protest, and practically leapt downstairs. “Odin? Odin!” He kicked his front door open and slammed it shut with his back, breathes labored. He held Ava tightly in a bridal position, arms pulling around her.

They wouldn’t take her again.

Odin wouldn’t _let_ them take her again, wouldn’t let them hurt her or put her in danger. She was so precious to him, he loved her too much to have her be hurt so badly again.

“…Odin? Please let me down.” He hesitated before leaning onto his knees and setting her onto her feet. He didn’t move though, his hands settled on her hips and his head leaning against her collarbone. Ava gently linked her hands around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

“…I c-can’t let them hurt you again,” he admitted quietly.

Ava didn’t say anything, but when he pulled away to look at her, her face was flushed with a blush. “Wh-What is it?”

“You… really do care about me…” she muttered.

Odin blinked and brushed her hair out of her face. Thinking about it, he couldn’t… even though he cared about her so _much_ , he couldn’t pull the words out of his mouth. They stuck dryly in his throat and made his stutter even worse.

“L-Let’s get you s-some pajamas,” he opted to say, and Ava deflated a little. He was disappointed in himself too. He got up to his feet and wandered into his room, rummaging around his drawers.

He found a pair of Ava’s shorts she had left behind the last time she was here, and one of his clean t-shirts. He stepped back into the living-room and passed the clothes over to her. She nodded and stepped into his bathroom, and he went into his room to change.

After pulling his pajama shirt on, he tread softly over darkened brown carpet back into the living-room. Ava was half sitting over her bag, shoving her dress inside. His shirt was large enough to brush her knees when she stood, and she glanced over to Odin, pulling a stray lock of hair over her shoulder. “I was just about to pull the blankets down,” she explained as she set her bag aside.

Odin stared at her evenly. Her face flushed again, and she muttered “What?”

“St-Stay with me,” he asked quietly.

The window was darkened, played at only with the lights of passing traffic. Odin’s bedroom was filled with sketches and pencil scaling.

As Ava tucked her face into his blankets, she mentally noted how his blankets smelled like herbs. She wasn’t sure whether or not he was asleep or not, as she had her back pressed against his chest, with his arms wrapped around her.

It was strange.

It wasn’t _bad_ , but she had never had someone feel possessive of her before. She hadn’t had affection and adoration before, but Odin offered these unceasingly.

His words echoed in her mind. “ _I c-can’t let them take you again_ ,” the gentle grasp of his arms around her and the desperation in his tone made her shiver.

How did normal people deal with emotions? How did they operate knowing how much they _mattered_ to another person? Ava shut her eyes and felt another blush spread across her cheeks and down her shoulders when Odin shifted a little in his sleep.

“A-Ava?” he asked quietly. She didn’t fidget or budge – she sort of didn’t want to talk right now. She was already in pieces from him, and another talk might cause her heart to explode.

He leaned up on one shoulder and she was about to relent, preparing to open her eyes to turn and look at him, when he muttered very quietly, barely above a whisper. His voice was softer than she had ever remembered it being, normally rough tones almost velvety. “I l-love you.” He pecked a kiss on her cheek before leaning back down.

Ava turned and sat up abruptly, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Odin’s own face mirrored hers, eyes wide and a violet hue taking to his skin.

“Y-Y-You were aw-aw- _awake_?!” He stuttered badly, sitting up.

“Yes! I – you – me -” she babbled, pointing between herself and Odin. He clamped a hand over his face and groaned loudly, leaning down into his knees.

“I’ve sc-screwed this all up,” he groaned miserably.

Ava was still staring at Odin.

He loved her.

He _loved_ her!

“Odin!” He sat up, startled at the panic in her tone. She lunged forward and grabbed his face between her hands. “I love you too!” she confessed in a loud blurt, and as astonishment began to creep over his face she planted a very uncoordinated kiss on his mouth. It was clumsy and hardly romantic, and Odin’s hands remained firmly on either side of him. When she pulled away, Odin looked completely bewildered.

Between Ava’s heart thrumming in her chest and Odin’s confused expression, panic lurched up her throat and she topped out of his bed, through the living-room and to the front door. _I must’ve said the wrong thing!_ She thought in a panic as her fingers wrapped around the handle of the door.

“A-Ava? Ava!” As she started to pull the door open, Odin’s hand slammed into it and it shut. She looked between him and the door desperately, and despite being completely flustered, he managed to look and sound serious. “Wh-What are you doing?!”

“I – I don’t – you – augh!” She slumped down onto the floor with her back against the door. “What am I _supposed_ to do?!”

“C-Come back to _bed_ , I assume!” he responded with a limb flailing back to his room.

“How can I get to bed when I know we _love_ each other?!” She yelled back, face completely flustered.

“I th-thought us loving each other would m-make it easier to _sleep together!_ ”

In hindsight, both of then realized yelling things at each other that could be easily mistranslated was a bad idea.

“Is that what you were trying to do when you asked me to stay with you?!” Ava asked in disbelief, her face almost glowing with a blush. “Trying to – _to_ -”

“N-No! Of c- _course_ not! A-Ava, th-the shower thing with you sh-showering and th-the pipes didn’t even occur to me until _you_ brought it up. I j-just… I w-wanted you close. It… w-wasn’t for an-anything like that.” He slumped down on the door a little. “Ugh, I… m-messed this all up, d-didn’t I?”

Ava watched him carefully for a moment. He had one of his pale hands flung over his face, his mouth twisted in dread.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Ava asked quietly, tucking her legs in. Odin looked between his fingers at her, indigo eyes flashing, even in the dark lighting. “Why did you wait till I was asleep?”

“I – I d-don’t know, I c-couldn’t say it t-to your _face_ , is all.”

She gave him a look. “What! Why?”

“B-Because it’s embarrassing!” He slumped down, sitting on the floor next to Ava. “I’m n-not used to a-all this, okay? I’m n-not used to b-being protective of p-people or w-wanting _someone_ to l-love me!”

Ava stared at him, her heart thrumming in her chest. “ _I_ love you,” she repeated quietly as she looked at her knees. In the dark, she couldn’t see her feet. It blended into the shadow around her. She turned to Odin. His hair vanished into the dark, but his skin was pale she could see his vague outline.

A car passed by outside, and between the blinds of his window yellow light danced across his shoulders. She could see he was looking back at her, eyes wide and shimmering oddly.

“Odin…?” She scooted toward him, pulling on his arm.

“Its n-nothing,” he responded tightly, but his voice cracked a little, and he rubbed his face with his hand.

“Liar,” she replied softly, and she pulled his hand away.

They were both silent for a long moment, the only noise the quiet hum of the cooler and cars passing by.

Ava reached forward and wiped the dampness from his cheek. He grabbed her hand and held it against his face, closing his eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked again.

“I w-was scared,” he replied honestly.

This time, Ava wasn’t rushed or panicked, although her heart was still beating hard in her chest. She leaned forward, gently pressing her lips against his, one hand against his face and the other holding his shoulder tightly.

He inhaled sharply with the contact, but relaxed a moment after, putting one hand on the small of her back and the other still holding her hand against his face. Odin knew Ava smelled of flowers – no matter how long she worked in a coffee-shop the scent was trapped in her hair and her skin – but he didn’t know she tasted sweet too.

They both pulled away from the kiss at the same time, feeling flustered and foolish.

Ava sat down and leaned her head against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. Idly, she traced his tattoos with one finger, down the designs of flames and arrows, of words of homage in his skin and little patterns that only he knew the purpose of.

“I was going to wait to tell you the good news,” she spoke quietly, and Odin looked down at her with a confused glance. “But you know, I guess this is as good a time as any. I’m quitting my job at the coffee-shop.” His eyes widened. “I’ve saved up enough to put my flower-shop back in business.”

He sat up, eyes bright. “A-Ava, that’s _great_!” He hoisted her up a little and held her by her shoulders. “W-We should celebrate!”

She giggled a little at his sudden enthusiasm, dark demeanor cast aside. “I have the day off tomorrow to get my tattoo,” she explained with a smile. “We could do something later, after that.”

He stood, and brought her with him, bringing Ava to her feet. “I st-still can’t believe you want to ac- _actually_ get a tattoo.”

“Well, it must be from hanging out with a punk like you all the time,” she teased as they entered his bedroom again.

He pulled the blankets aside as they both slipped into his bed. Ava nestled herself against his chest, and he had one arm underneath her and the other draped above her and the blankets.

Ava felt her eyelids growing heavy.

“H-Hey Ava?” She turned to look at him. “I l-love you.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “I love you too, Odin.” She could hear his heartbeat, and it skipped a little when she spoke.

They both slept well, two halves of a whole.

When Odin woke the next morning, he was aware of his bed feeling cold. Blinking, he sat up to find the space next to him empty.

Panic lurched in his gut so sharply he almost doubled over.

Did she leave? Did Ava leave him in the middle of the night, while he slept? Odin scrambled out of bed, looking around. In the living-room, her bag was absent, and his shirt was neatly folded on the table. His heart dropped and he slumped against the doorway.

He had messed things up.

He must’ve come on too soon, said it at the wrong time…

Odin clenched his eyes shut and his breathing shuddered.

This was the worst mistake yet.

“Mornin’, tall, dark, and gruesome.” His eyes flew open.

Ava was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, drying her hair. She was wearing a pair of shorts that came down to her knees, and a loose t-shirt. “Sorry, I used a lot of your shampoo on my hair.”

Relief crashed into him and he almost laughed. “Y-You got up early to sh-shower?”

She pulled her hair back and set the towel aside. “Yeah, I went upstairs to grab a change of clothes and came back, so I could stop stealing yours.”

“If y-you went upstairs, wh-why not take a shower in y-your own apartment?”

“Because,” she stepped forward and kissed his cheek “I wanted to say good morning.”

Odin chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. “G-Good morning, Ava.” She flashed him a smile before going back into his bathroom to fetch her hairbrush. He stared at the bathroom door, feeling his knees go a little weak.

From the bathroom, she called “Are you gonna get dressed or what? You have a client today!” He smiled to himself and went into his room, stripping off his pajamas and putting on his jeans and shirt. He stepped into the living-room area and pulled his leather jacket on, straightening the collar and running a comb through his hair.

Ava stepped out, her scarlet hair cleaned. The scent of fresh flora wafted through the apartment. Ava leaned over and picked his sketchbook up, handing it over to Odin. He shoved it in his large pockets, and they both stepped out the door.

As they made their way to his motorcycle, he asked “H-Hey, what’d you d-do with TITAN’s flowers?”

“I burned them,” she answered with a slight shrug.

He gave her a look of surprise, eyebrows shooting up into stark black hair.

“Hey, my apartment has a fireplace you know. It’s not like I went into the parking lot with gasoline and matches.” He rolled his eyes and he mounted on his motorcycle, before she sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso.

“L-Like riding backseat better?” he asked as they neared his tattoo parlor – it was called “Pride’s Den,” and Ava stated that it was a fitting name multiple occasions – and he felt her nodding against his back.

“It’s easier to hold you this way.”

He swallowed a lump in his throat and didn’t respond as he felt his heart beat hard in his chest. Not only was Ava being cute, as usual, but today he was giving her a tattoo. That made him a bundle of nerves.

They parked in front of the parlor, and Odin glanced at Ava’s old flower shop. There were still scorch marks along the doorway and other tell-tale signs of the place being trashed, but she had been fixing it up slowly for the past few months.

And soon, he would smell fresh flowers again.

Ava squeezed his torso. “Y-Y’ok?”

“Yeah… I’m getting a tattoo though. I’m a little nervous,” she admitted. As they dismounted, Ava was running her hands through her hair anxiously, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. Odin steeled himself and patted her shoulder, causing her to jump a little.

“H-Hey, you’ll be fine, alright? I’ve d-done this a million t-times.” She weighed his words, amber eyes and flushed cheeks looking up at him. Eventually the tension in her shoulders loosened and she smiled – still a little anxious – before following him into the shop.

He stuck the shop-key into the door before blinking. “Wh-What? It’s unlocked…” He twisted the handle and walked in, only to groan loudly. “OLAI!”

The brother awoke with a start from his laying position on one of the inclined parlor seats. “What? No need to yell…”

“I t-told you not to invite y-your weird Scavenger friends over!” Odin gestured to a few of the gang members, groggily awaking and wandering out the back door. “Th-They always steal stuff!”

“Scavengers?” Ava asked in a squeaky voice, clinging closer to Odin.

As the last few of them wandered out, probably drunk, Odin replied with a wave of his hand “Th-They’re harmless.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” she muttered lowly, and Odin spotted a bitter expression on her features and he quirked a brow.

“M-Met them before?” Odin locked the back door and glanced at Ava expectantly as he transferred his drawing onto a stencil.

Ava sat herself on one of the stools and Olai rolled over and went back into a doze. “Yeah, we’ve met.”

She was silent a long moment, and Odin held the stencil up to the light. “C-Care to extrapolate?” he asked as he set the stencil down.

“Uhhh…” She braided and unbraided her fingers. “They… might have… burned down my house when I was younger?”

Odin stared at her.

“M-M- _Might_ have?!”

“Well the police said it could have been anyone! We had just seen the Scavengers hanging around the area…” She bit her lip again and leaned her cheek on her shoulder, elbows on the counter. “Besides, they don’t look like the same people. It’s probably another group who just took the name to sound cool.” Her gaze was downcast. “I shouldn’t be so jumpy all the time.”

Odin reached across the counter and gently brushed her scarlet hair out of her face with the back of his hand. “H-Honestly, you’ve got a lot of r-right to act jumpy. Th-That’s a second gang in the a-area you’ve had bad blood with.”

Her lips curled in a tiny bowstring smile.

“B-Besides, I’ve got the stencil d-done. L-Let’s get you that t-tattoo.”

Odin led her to a private stall – and the best one. The other seats had cracked leather and the foam was flat, but this one was rarely used. The seat was still comfortable, and it was private. Just what Ava needed.

And just what he needed too. He couldn’t have his pesky siblings getting on his nerves with such a delicate situation.

“S-Sit down over here,” he gestured while he pulled his supply cart up. She hopped up and her legs dangled over the edge of the seat.

He steeled himself and pulled out a cleaning solution and a razor. “I-I’ll have to clean th-the area you want your t-tattoo, and shave it for any f-fine hairs.” She nodded. “T-Then I’ll press th-the stencil on, and w-we could begin.”

She nodded again.

“O-On your back, right?” He patted the studio seat she was sitting on. Hesitantly, she laid down on her front, pulling her shirt up.

The skin of her back was just as pearly and smooth as the rest of her, and Odin steadied himself. He had to treat her like any other client. He pulled on his gloves and began his work.

However, Odin seemed hypersensitive to Ava’s discomfort. She didn’t squirm at all, but if her breath hitched or she made any sort of noise to give away the pain, he would stop a moment. “Y-You need a break?” He asked, ready to set his tools aside.

Surprisingly, she shook her head, and he continued.

The contrasting colors looked good on her back, he realized after about an hour. Her skin was a beautiful canvas. He doubted any tattoo she wanted would look bad.

She shuddered a little, but automatically piped up “I’m fine!” before he could hesitate. He kept going, occasionally wiping the tattoo with an alcohol swab. Ava spoke up again, and he could hear the tremble in her voice. “You’re… really wonderful, Odin…”

“Wh-What?” He asked with a snort as he continued his work.

“You can do this...” she breathed a little “…without a problem, and it’s remarkable.”

He flushed a little, and muttered “N-Not really,” as he finished up the last few lines. He wiped the tattoo with another cotton swab and took another critical look at it. The image of the heart was settled just at the small of her back, and the arrow was arching down her spine accordingly.

It looked _good_.

“I’m f-finished,” he announced as he started to toss the disposable needles.

Ava was about to sit up and look it at, but Odin cajoled her into laying back down. “W-Wait a moment,” he chastised. “Y-Your back still hurts, r-right?” She nodded, and he could see her cheeks and nose were flushed pink from stress. “Wait here.”

He returned with a warm, damp towel, and set it across the tattoo and enflamed skin. Ava sighed in relief, almost melting into the chair. “Thanks, Odin.” He threw the rest of the disposables away, before rolling his chair in front of Ava. She blinked up at him.

“Does the tattoo look bad?”

He poked her nose with his finger. “I d-doubt any t-tattoo would look bad on you.”

She smiled shyly, before inclining her head to take a glimpse of her back. “Still… could I see it?”

“O-Of course.” He pulled the towel off her back and set it aside, before helping her to her feet. She winced a little, and Odin explained “It’s g-good for f-first-timers to t-take it easy.” She leaned up against him a little as they stepped out, and taking a furtive glance, and seeing no other Arrows, he pulled her into the main room, uncovering the mirrors.

She nervously pulled her shirt up and turned.

Ava’s eyes went wide, mouth slightly agape. She went stiff, her eyes darting across the mirror, looking at her new ink.

Odin was kneading his hands together.

“Do… D-Do you like it?”

Ava dropped her shirt before taking a running start and throwing her arms around Odin’s neck. “Like it – I _love_ it! It looks amazing! _You’re_ amazing!” The momentum of her speed caused him to grab her so she wouldn’t fling into the wall, so Ava was being held around her hips as she cradled Odin face. Her feet were off the ground, and she kicked them a little in excitement. “It’s so bright! And colorful! And you remembered my favorite colors!”

She nuzzled his face a little in delight, and Odin felt like his heart was going to explode.

“I love it! I love _you_!” She laughed a little – whether or not it was because she could confess easily or because she was simply euphoric due to the tattoo – but his face took on a deeper violet hue and he hugged her closely.

“I’m g-glad you like it…” he muttered.

She squeezed her arms around his neck a little tighter. “I like it a _lot_.” He let her down and she spun around, her shirt fanning out enough to see the bottom of the arrowhead. “Hey,” she asked, stopping her spinning “I know we were gonna go out today, but did you wanna hang out with me while I shop around for new flowers?”

He beamed at her. “Th-That sounds great.”

Ava was a little sore from the tattoo, but was otherwise dandy. Odin decided to take Olai’s car for a change, so they could lug all the live flowers back.

The car smelled like cigarettes and booze, with burnt butts on the car seats and half-empty vodka bottles hidden in the glove-box.

“Does your brother have a problem?” Ava asked as she buckled up, rolling down the window.

“M-My brother _is_ a problem,” he retorted with a grumble as he started the car.

They drove downtown to a superstore, where local flowers were sold. They weren’t anything imported – Ava didn’t have the money for that yet – but they were a good start.

Ava was amazing when it came to flowers.

She was speeding down the aisles, rolling with both her feet on the cart before swerving to a stop. She buried her fingers in the soil of a pot that held tulips, before wrinkling her nose and pulling the pot down. “The soil in this is super dry,” she muttered angrily “and the stalks are already browning… These flowers have such potential, too.”

“Y-You’re buying the w-weak flowers?” Odin questioned with a quirk in his brow. Ava nodded, continuing to push the cart along without looking.

“I’ll care for them closer anyway,” she explained with a timid smile “so it’s fairer to give the strong ones to hard owners and the weak ones to good owners.”

Odin nodded a little, slipping his hands into his pockets as the flora around him shifted. “Huh. N-Never thought of it that way.”

As Ava turned to look back in front of herself, her cart rammed into another person’s, causing it to jolt to the side and all the other customers flowers to tilt over.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Ava apologized, about to go around the cart to help set them back up.

“No need to apologize,” Six replied as they began setting the flowers back up. Their blue eyes crinkled with a smile, and they leaned on the handle of their cart. “ _Ava_. Doing well?”

Ava had backed up behind her cart again and replied with a slight mumble “Uhm… yeah…” She scuffed a shoe on the floor before asking quietly “Please move your cart aside so I can pass.”

“I heard the good news,” Six stated smoothly, tousling their blue hair between white clad fingers. “Really, I even got you roses.”

Ava cocked her head. “Wait. _You_ got the roses? I thought TITAN was just threatening me!”

“Of course not,” Six replied with a small chuckle of amusement. “I got you the roses for celebration. Congratulations on making enough to put your flower shop back in business.”

Odin, who had been adamantly ignored by Six, finally cut in with “H-How do you know ab-about that?”

Six gave him a placid look. “Magnolia Lacivi holds no loyalties.” Ava groaned. Maggie really loved gossiping to anyone. “Here buying more flowers?”

“No thanks to you,” Ava hissed, pulling her cart back. Just as she did so, Six pushed their own cart back and opened the way for her, gesturing grandly with one arm. Ava glared at them, and Odin walked on Ava’s left, where Six was in the aisle.

Odin glared at Six, putting a protective hand on Ava’s shoulder. Six quirked a brow, crossing their arms and popping a hip.

Before Odin could spit something at the TITAN, they curved around him and started walking on Ava’s right.

“Really though, Ava… You’d make an impressive member of our group.”

She cringed at their movements. “And why do you think that?”

They brushed her hair out of her face, but she didn’t waiver. Odin’s hands were clenched so hard they were aching.

“Have you already forgotten? When we… _repossessed_ you for an allotted amount of time-” a pretty way of saying ‘kidnapped’ “-you managed to take out three of our best with your bare hands before you were overpowered. You show incredible strength, when necessary.”

“It shouldn’t have _been_ necessary,” she barked back, eyes narrowing into ruby slits.

They made a humming noise in the back of their throat, medical mask concealing their expression. “I certainly see my mistake now,” they replied, looking up at some roses and poking the petals a little.

Odin snorted, keeping an arm around Ava’s shoulders as they walked. “I-Is that a half-assed apology?”

Six didn’t reply to him. “Imagine Ava,” they stepped ahead of her and made a few movements with their hands “with the right outfit and getting rid of the tumor-” he flicked a hand Odin’s direction, who made an offended choking noise “-you’d be perfect.”

“I don’t want to be a TITAN,” she said flatly.

“Maybe I could change your mind.”

“You kidnapped me!”

“A mistake I will not make twice,” they assured. “If you listened-”

Ava latched onto Odin’s arm and yanked on it a little, causing it to stagger. “ _I_ am with Odin and the Arrows!”

Six looked unconvinced. “Really, now? You don’t even wear their emblem.”

Ava’s face darkened in anger, and Odin wasn’t certain what to do. She could get downright terrifying when angered, but he hadn’t seen her this livid, this furious.

Ava grabbed the seams of her shirt and pulled her entire top off. Odin’s face exploded violet and he shoved his hands over his eyes. Six looked confused, but they showed no fluster at Ava’s stripping. She pulled on the strap of her beige bra to tighten it before flinging her hair over one shoulder and turning around, gesturing to her back. “I am with the Arrows!” she snarled.

Six’s expression dropped.

They staggered forward at seeing the tattoo on her back, looking shocked. “Who – Who _graffiti’d_ on your _skin_?” They reached out as though to grasp her skin and pull the ink off, but they went stiff. Flaring blue eyes zeroed in on Odin, and the Arrow could see the anger on Six’s face between his fingers.

Breathily, Odin whispered “ _Fuck_.”

Six tackled him.

A full fistfight broke out between the two of them in the garden section of a supermarket.

Six managed to put a knee against Odin’s throat, one hand against his face as Odin lay with his back on the floor. Odin swung and knuckles hit the soft skin of Six’s cheek, causing them to stagger. Odin took the opportunity to shift is body-weight and toss Six to the concrete beside him, before he attempted to get the TITAN into a choke-hold.

Ava looked between them, screeching “Stop! Stop!” and making worried noises.

“Holy crap, is Odin in a fight with Six?” Ava turned to see Crow and Raven, both of them holding a coffee. “And Ava, why are you shirtless?”

Raven gawked. “When did you get a tattoo?!”

Ava blushed violently, initially forgetting about her enraged stripping as she fumbled to pull her shirt back on.

“It looks good,” Crow said with a nod as Odin was pushed into a pot of petunias. He soon got to his feet, and tried to smash Six to the floor, only to have the TITAN expertly dodge them, swerving to the side.

A pot of roses careened to the floor and shattered in the chaos.

“ ** _STOP!_** ” Ava screamed, and both Odin and Six ceased to watch the redhead dart past them to pick up the plant. “Crow, Raven, grab me that bag of soil.” She turned to the fighting couple. “Odin, fill that pitcher full of water ASAP.”

“I’m a l-little busy?” he coughed as Six slowly started to try to choke him.

“Six!” she hissed. They faltered. “Make yourself useful and grab me a pot!”

It seemed Ava was _very_ close to plants. She held the tiny rose bush in her arms, muttering “you monsters didn’t even think about the roses, did you” and both Odin and Six shamefully repotted the plant to appease her and get in her good graces.

She was pouting in the corner while both Odin and Six apologized to an employee, and Six actually bought the plant and new pot.

“S-Sorry about the roses,” Odin muttered and Ava sighed.

“It’s fine,” she replied, pulling her hair aside. “I guess I do tend to overreact when I’m upset.”

“Y-You _undressed_ in front of S-Six,” Odin reminded. She made a low, squeaking whisper, covering her face.

“I _did_ , didn’t I,” she moaned in despair. “Oh, I must’ve looked like an idiot.”

Six approached her, holding the potted roses under one arm. “Actually, you looked very impressive. Almost noble.” They stopped a few feet away from her as Odin wrapped an arm around her shoulder and the twins flanked her other side. Six lowered their head a little. “I believe it was unfair of me to… push you, as I did. You gave me your answer regarding your opinions on the TITANs.”

Ava actually seemed to relax a little. Odin didn’t.

“Are you gonna leave me alone now?”

Six didn’t reply, only bobbed their head a little. “Until we meet again,” they bid goodbye softly, and Odin watched them leave before relaxing.

“Y-You okay, Ava?”

She nodded, only barely clinging to him. “Yeah, I… I _am_. I don’t think Six was going to try and hurt me.”

Odin glared at the doorway. “M-Maybe not,” he muttered disdainfully. “C’mon, l-lets get the r-rest of your flowers.”

Raven and Crow helped with that – they had been getting coffee and heard the commotion, and decided to stay to ask questions. “You got a tattoo? From _Odin_? In the most _private_ stall? _Alone_?” Raven wiggled her eyebrows. Ava flushed.

“Nothing happened,” she insisted, cheeks glowing with a blush. Odin nodded as he put another potted plant into the cart.

“A-All I did was g-give her a tattoo,” Odin insisted, giving his sisters a disappointed look.

“Alone,” Crow added, flicking through her phone, and Raven continued “In a very compromising place.”

Odin rapped the tops of their heads with his knuckles, and they both cried out in pain.

“G-Get your c-collective heads out of the gutter,” he chastised as Ava rolled over to the checkout line. Odin noticed that the prices for live flowers were a little high, but she seemed happy to pay. Odin enlisted the help of his sisters to pile the flowers into Olai’s car and they decided to join Ava and Odin on the ride back.

As they neared the establishment, Odin squinted a little. Ava must have cleaned the burned ash away, and somehow must have scoured the burned tile to a glossy look again. However, when he glanced at her, Ava’s brows were knit in confusion and she tilted her head a little.

They parked on the curb next to her store, and she didn’t even shut the car door as she bolted over.

The glass was replaced – and she could see rows and rows of flowers.

She gasped as Odin and the twins looked through the windows alongside her.

“Who did this?” she questioned with a breathy whisperer, and as she went to her front door there was a sticky note attached to the glass.

It was a heart with the number six written in the middle. Ava made a face at it, before tearing it off the door and crumpling the note in her hand. “I’m gonna look the place over,” she muttered, and Odin nodded.

Six’s infatuation with Ava was getting really, really weird.

As though summoned by Odin’s discomfort, Six pulled up the road on their white motorcycle like a pale phantom. Odin meandered over to where they were idling, hands in pockets.

“St-Stop harassing Ava,” Odin warned, voice low.

“I was simply fixing what I had broken, Arrow.” Six stared at him evenly, hands on the handlebars, preparing to leave. “It was my need to gain vengeance against you that has made life for _her_ so difficult. I had not realized the value of a plant to her,” they mused aloud.

“A-And realizing that n-now doesn’t give you the r-right to try and-”

Six laughed, and it was a low metallic noise, muffled by the face-mask. “And what, Arrow? Steal her away? I forced her the first time, and I refuse to the second time. If I get her it is fairly.” They refocused behind Odin, and he turned to see Ava walking up, looking confused and disconcerted.

“Why?” she asked, gesturing to the shop.

Six put their helmet on. “I have an appreciation for flora,” they replied, looking straight at Ava, and after a second they revved their engine and sped down the street.

Ava watched them leave, a slight awe in her eyes. Odin felt put off by the expression, somewhat mollified, and he crossed his arms with a huff. She suddenly elbowed his side.

“I need a ride back to the store,” she stated with a smile.

“Wh-What? Why?” She certainly had enough flowers _now_.

“I need to get a new lock,” she explained as Crow and Raven basked in the flora. “Six can break through this one.”

That sent incredible relief through Odin, and he fondly put an arm around her shoulders. “D-Don’t trust them?”

“Of course not.” She squinted at him. “Were you… jealous?”

“No!” he denied, face flushing. Ava pulled him down and pecked a kiss on his cheek, causing him to fluster even further.

“Don’t worry,” she sang sweetly in a sing-song voice “I love only _you_.”

Crow and Raven made whooping noises behind them and Odin barked at them to shut up as Ava held her face in her hands in embarrassment.

As they left Crow and Raven to watch Ava’s shop, they used Olai’s car again. Odin leaned over the middle seat and clumsily kissed the side of Ava’s head. “I l-love you too.” He didn’t say it much due to him being a mess of embarrassed mush and manly mass, but the pleased look on Ava’s face made him feel a little less foolish.

As they drove, Ava was rubbing her back a little.

“Hey, what do you think I’d look like with a sleeve tattoo?”

Odin rolled his eyes and kept driving.


End file.
